MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has penalized five lawyers over their homophobic posts about LGBTQIA+ individuals, saying such stereotypes have no place in conversations among legal professionals.
The high court reprimanded lawyers Morgan Rosales Nicano, Joseph Marion Peña Navarrete, Noel Antay and Israel Calderon, and imposed a P25,000 fine on lawyer Ernesta Tabujara III for violating Rule 7.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Rule 7.03 states that a lawyer shall not engage in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law, nor shall he, whether in public or private life, behave in a scandalous manner to the discredit of the legal profession.
The SC issued a stern warning that a repetition of a similar offense will be severely dealt with.
The decision stemmed from a Facebook thread initiated by Antay that the court said was “laced with homophobic undertones.”
“Such a statement tends to propagate and enforce an unfair and harmful stereotype regarding the sexual pinings of members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This, however, is not representative of the LGBTQIA+ community,” the court said.
“There is no room for such stereotypes in conversations among lawyers,” it added.
The SC determined that Nicanor, Navarette, Antay and Calderon should be reprimanded for their “intemperate language” against the LGBTQIA+ community, adding “their fixation on the respective sexual orientations of their subjects was uncalled for.” The court also said the lawyers should be more circumspect in their choice of words and be mindful of gender-fair language.
The court said it was “disturbed” by the unapologizing stance of Tabujara.
“Nor can his claims of being an ally and supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community absolve him of any liability. In fact, it smacks of hypocrisy,” it said.
The Supreme Court also stressed that the lawyers’ right to privacy, especially when it comes to their social media account, is limited and cannot be used as a shield against any liability. Antay invoked his right to privacy.
The ruling was promulgated on April 11, but was made public only on Thursday.